Post Mackems: Shola

Having notched again against the Mackems, Shola is fast becoming one of our more prolific players against the unwashed. Despite a few of us naysayers watching the penalty through our fingers he nonchantly stroked home. The Fenham Eusebio said:

"To score the goal against Sunderland in front of those fans was a dream for me. It would have been even better if we had clinched the win. I had forgotten all about the record too. I was only told after the game.

With Michael Owen being out, I told the manager I was on penalties. It was a chance to get a goal. I did not expect the penalty to take so long. The referee did not blow his whistle for a while. I was feeling butterflies, but if you have a chance to score against Sunderland, you are always going to take it.

It was something I wanted to do, and thankfully the ball went into the back of the net. It was a good game for me. We have not beaten them this season, which is not great for the fans, but it was important we did not lose. We fought back, and had the character to mount the fightback.

The manager asked me if I was up to it. I had not trained for a whole month, but I did some shape with the team on Saturday. With the fact we had a few injuries, when he asked me if I wanted to play, there was only going to be one answer. It was a big thing, not just because of where we are, but the opposition was our arch rivals. I wanted to play. We were disappointed we did not take the three points in the end, but it is a starting point for us.

I think the second-half display from the boys was fantastic. We have to play a lot more like that if we are going to win games."